How to Start an RV Hosting Site on Your Farm

2 days ago

27 min read

Golden-hour farm with three gravel RV sites and hookup posts, a farmer greeting a retired couple at their motorhome

South of Ukiah, California, Greg Nelson's family grows wine grapes, pears and Christmas trees. They also host campers and RV travelers through Hipcamp and Harvest Hosts. On concert nights, the rigs roll in. "We could have 12 or 15 RVs come to a concert," he told Ag Alert in July 2026.

Here is how you do the same on your land. Test that a 40 to 45 ft rig can reach, clear and turn. Ask your county and health department how many paid sites you can run before a campground license applies. Get your insurance in writing. Then build only what guests will pay for.

The short answer

To start RV sites on your farm, you need four things: a road a big rig can use, written approval from zoning and the health department, insurance that covers paying overnight guests, and level pads with the hookups your market wants. Many small farm hosts run one to four sites, and in many US states a campground license applies once you reach four or five. By our estimate from published cost ranges, a simple water-and-electric site costs roughly $2,300 to $5,900 to build, and the farm RV sites we found were listed at $27 to about CA$58 a night.

The Steps at a Glance

Here is the whole build in order. Each step has its own section below.

Test your access road for 40 to 45 ft rigs, 13 ft 6 in of clearance and room to turn.
Check the ground: level, well drained, out of flood zones and away from livestock.
Call zoning and the health department, and get the site limit in writing.
Talk to your insurer before you spend a dollar.
Choose your site type: dry, electric only, water and electric, or full hookup.
Lay out and build the pads, power and water.
Set your prices and house rules.
List your sites on booking platforms, your own website and Google.
Sort out lodging tax, sales tax or VAT.
Open small, learn for one season, then grow.

Ten-step roadmap for building paid RV sites on a farm, from testing the access road to opening small — Steps 1 and 3 are the two checks most likely to stop the project, so do them first.

Why RV Travelers Are Worth Building For

If you are weighing RV sites on your farm, start with the market. The demand is real.

The Dyrt's 2026 Camping Report found that 82.4 million Americans camped in 2025, the second-highest total on record. More than half of campers in that survey said they had trouble booking a site because campgrounds were full. In its 2025 report, covering 2024, the figure was 56.1%.

RV owners are also using their rigs more. The RV Industry Association's 2025 owner study counts 8.1 million US households with an RV, and the median owner now uses it about 30 days a year, up from 20 in 2021. Manufacturers shipped 342,220 new RVs in 2025, up 2.5% on 2024.

These guests spend money nearby. KOA's 2026 report says average daily spending per person passed $200 in 2025, not counting accommodation. On a farm, some of that can land in your farm stand.

Six key statistics on RV and camping demand in 2025 and 2026 — More campers than sites: the gap a farm can fill.

Reality Check:

Demand is national. Your bookings are local. A farm 10 minutes from a national park, a lake or a busy highway will fill far faster than a farm two hours from anything. Check what nearby campgrounds charge and how often they are full before you build.

Free Stays or Paid Sites: Know Which Business You Are Building

There are two very different ways to host RVs on a farm.

The first is free overnight stays. Harvest Hosts members park one night for free and are encouraged to buy something, with the company suggesting $30 per one-night stay. Boondockers Welcome works in a similar way: the parking is free, though guests who use hookups are expected to offer to cover the cost.

That model can bring shoppers to a farm stand with almost no building. It is not paperwork-free, though: Harvest Hosts requires its hosts to carry commercial liability cover for overnight guests.

A motorhome parked in a grassy field, the kind of setting farm RV sites offer — Illustrative photo, not a featured farm. Photo: Paul Kansonkho on Unsplash.

I covered it in depth in Harvest Hosts for farms: is hosting RV travelers worth it?

This article is about the second model: paid RV sites, where guests pay a nightly fee for a pad, often with power and water. That is a lodging business. It earns more per night, but it brings permits, insurance and tax duties that a free stay may not.

Real Farms Already Doing It

You don't need a resort. These are working farms with modest setups.

Farm	Place	What they offer	Nightly price
Harvest Moon Farms MO	Sparta, Missouri	One gravel RV site on a 30-acre farm with horses, 50-amp power (bring a 100 ft cord or rent one), water and sewer; rigs under 30 ft; pony rides booked separately	$27 base price shown on Hipcamp listing (Nov 2026); can vary by date
Little Farm	Swannanoa, North Carolina	One RV site plus three tent sites; sells flowers and seedlings	From $31 (June 2026 report)
Bridgewood Farms	Essex, Ontario	One RV site on a 225-acre family farm surrounded by corn, soybean and wheat fields; 30 and 50-amp power, water by hose, no sewer; firewood $10 a bundle	About CA$57.60 base price shown on Hipcamp listing (Nov 2026); can vary by date
Farfields Farm	Pickering, North Yorkshire, UK	Club Certificated Site for up to 5 caravans or motorhomes and up to 10 tents; electric hook-up pitches	£15 to £20 per unit (members, 2026)
GloryField Hospitality Farm	South Charleston, Ohio	One full-hookup RV pad plus two off-grid glamping sites; the family also runs a grain and hog farm	Not published
Fesko Farms	Skaneateles, New York	Soft-opened in 2022 with 20 campsites, including four cabins, on a permit for 75 (2022 report; current status not confirmed)	Not published
Sunny Cal Farms	Fresno County, California	An undeveloped boondocking area on an organic table grape farm	Not published

Notice the pattern. Most of these farms run one site, or a handful.

Fesko Farms is the big end of the scale. According to a 2022 report, the family funded its campground partly by selling development rights to the state through a land trust, and had spent about $300,000 so far. Kim Brayman, who runs the farm with her husband, planned water and electric for every site and septic for a handful. We could not confirm how the campground looks today.

At the small end, Sunny Cal Farms co-owner C.J. Buxman calls his area a boondocking site with nothing on it. Both are real businesses. Pick the size that fits your cash and your time.

Step 1: Test Your Access Road Before Anything Else

The road decides everything. If a big rig can't get in, nothing else matters.

Some guests will arrive in big rigs. Class A motorhomes and fifth wheels run up to 45 ft long and up to about 13.5 ft tall, according to RVshare's dimension guide. Add a towed car and, by our rough count, you can have around 60 ft of vehicle on your lane.

Use the fire code as your yardstick. Section 503.2.1 of the International Fire Code, adopted in many US states, calls for fire access roads at least 20 ft wide with 13 ft 6 in of clear height. Your fire marshal may hold your RV lanes to that standard anyway.

Walk your route from the public road to the pad and check:

Height: Tree limbs, wires and barn overhangs below 13 ft 6 in.
Width: Gateways and bridges narrower than about 12 ft, where a rig with mirrors will scrape.
Turns: Tight corners, ditches and gate posts that a 40 ft rig cannot swing around.
Weight: Culverts, old bridges and soft ground that could fail under a heavy coach.
Slope: Steep or washed-out stretches that a rear-wheel-drive motorhome cannot climb when wet.
Turnaround: A loop or wide turning area at the end, because backing a rig out of a farm lane is how fences get flattened.

Field-Tested Play:

Before you spend on anything else, ask a friend with a big fifth wheel or motorhome to drive your route on a wet day. Walk ahead of them. Every spot where they hesitate is a spot you will fix with gravel, a chainsaw or a wider gate. It costs you a coffee and saves you a bad review.

Step 2: Check the Ground

RV guests want level, firm and quiet. Most will level their own rig with blocks, but nobody enjoys sleeping on a tilt.

Look for a spot that is:

Level or close to it. Hipcamp's own host guide says all you really need to start is a flat spot where someone can park an RV.
Well drained. Avoid low ground that turns to mud after rain.
Out of flood zones. Michigan's campground guidance, for example, tells you to check floodplain data and wetlands early, because they can mean extra permits and setbacks.
Close to power and water. Every foot of trench costs money.
Away from livestock and machinery. For guest safety and for animal health. More on biosecurity in Step 7.
Kind to neighbors. Screen sites from the nearest house with trees or distance.

Shade, a view and a short walk to something interesting, such as an orchard, a pond or the farm stand, turn an ordinary pad into one people rebook. My guide to farm visitor amenities covers which small comforts guests actually notice.

Step 3: Zoning, Campground Licences and Health Permits

This is the step that stops most projects, so do it early.

Two different offices usually have a say. Your county or town zoning office decides whether paid camping is allowed on your land at all. Your state or local health department decides whether you need a campground permit or license, which usually depends on how many sites or RVs you will have at one time.

Leah Curtis, associate general counsel for Ohio Farm Bureau, warns that short-term rentals or temporary camping may not be allowed under local zoning. Zoning comes first. If your zoning says no, ask about a special or conditional use permit. My guide to farm wedding venue zoning walks through how those hearings work, and the same approach applies to campsites.

Decision flowchart for whether farm RV sites need a campground permit — Take this path to your county and health department. Get every answer in writing.

United States: Where the License Line Sits

Many states draw the license line at four or five sites. Here are real examples, checked November 2026.

Place	When a campground license or permit applies	Who you talk to
Michigan	Five or more campsites, or five or more RVs or tents. New construction permit fee is $965; plans need a licensed engineer's stamp if the project costs over $15,000	EGLE and the local health department
Wisconsin	Four or more campsites, advertised or not. One to three sites also need a license if you advertise them to the public	DATCP or its local agent
New York	Five or more campsites for temporary or seasonal overnight stays	State or county health department
Ohio	Five or more self-contained RVs, or five or more tents and other portable camping units	Local health district
Minnesota	An area for five or more tents or RVs, free or paid	Minnesota Department of Health or delegated agency
California	A new Low-Impact Camping Areas law (AB 518) lets small, nature-based sites skip a commercial occupancy permit, but only where the county opts in. Hipcamp's summary puts the cap at nine campsites, no more than four of them for RVs, on at least two acres	Your county

Read the Wisconsin line twice. The state's campground page treats advertising "using the media, a sign, or a symbol" as presenting a site to the public. It does not say whether a booking website counts, but an online listing may well do so, so ask DATCP before you list.

In Michigan, the process runs like this: tentative local zoning approval, plan review, a construction permit, electrical and plumbing approvals, then a license that you renew every year with an annual local health inspection. Other states follow a similar order.

Reality Check:

Staying under the license threshold does not mean no rules. Zoning, septic, well and electrical permits can still apply to a single site. Wiring a 50-amp post is electrician's work in most places, and Michigan says outright that its campground office does not permit electrical work: you need a licensed electrician and a local electrical permit.

Canada: British Columbia Farmland Example

In Canada, provinces and local governments set the rules, so check yours. British Columbia gives a clear example for farmland in its Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR).

There, a farm can offer agri-tourism accommodation of up to 10 sleeping units in total, and RV sites count toward those 10. The land must be classed as "farm" under the Assessment Act. You also need to offer real agri-tourism activities: the province says accommodation alone does not count. Local and First Nation governments can still restrict or ban it.

In Ontario, Bridgewood Farms shows the small end in practice: a single RV site with power on a 225-acre family farm. Your municipality's zoning by-law and the local public health unit are your first two calls.

United Kingdom: The 28-Day Rule, Exemptions and Club Sites

The UK works differently. In England, Wales and Scotland, the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 means you normally need both planning permission and a site licence from your council to run a caravan site. Northern Ireland has its own caravan law. Schedule 1 of the Act lists exemptions, and these are what farmers really mean when they talk about "the 28-day rule."

Holdings of five acres or more (paragraph 3): No site licence is needed if, in the previous 12 months, caravans were on the land for no more than 28 days in total, with no more than three at a time.
A traveller for two nights (paragraph 2): One caravan may stay up to two nights if no other caravan is on the land, again inside a 28-day yearly limit.
Exempted organisations (paragraphs 4 and 5): Clubs holding a government exemption certificate can approve small sites for up to five caravans at a time.

Those Schedule 1 situations also carry planning permission automatically under Part 5 of the permitted development rules in England. Be careful with the other "28-day rule": Part 4 Class B, the general temporary-use right, specifically excludes caravan sites. England's newer Class BC right allows a recreational campsite for up to 60 days a year with up to 50 pitches. It allows motorhomes but not towed caravans. You must provide toilets and waste disposal on site, and notify your council in writing before you start each year. Class BC is a planning right only. The 1960 Act counts a motorhome as a caravan, so a Class BC site that takes motorhomes may still need a caravan site licence unless a Schedule 1 exemption applies. Ask your council's licensing team before you open.

The most popular farm route is a club site. The Caravan and Motorhome Club calls them Certificated Locations (CLs). The Camping and Caravanning Club calls them Certificated Sites (CSs). Both allow up to five caravans or motorhomes at a time, for club members only.

The Caravan and Motorhome Club says you usually won't need planning permission for a five-pitch CL. It asks for at least half an acre of level land, safe access, drinking water, a chemical waste point, a rubbish bin and public liability insurance, and it charges £69 including membership, with no commission. The Camping and Caravanning Club adds a limit of up to 10 tents if space allows, a 28-night maximum stay, and units spaced six metres apart.

A white caravan parked in a meadow of yellow flowers, like a small UK farm caravan site — Illustrative photo, not a featured farm. Photo: Margo Evardson on Unsplash.

Reality Check:

The club exemption covers the use of the land, not building work. Toilets, showers, hardstanding and drainage can still need planning permission. Rules also differ in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, so check with your own council.

Your Agritourism Law May Not Cover the Night

Many US states have agritourism liability laws that limit lawsuits over the natural risks of a farm visit. Don't assume they cover a paid overnight stay.

Pennsylvania's Agritourism Act is a clear example. Penn State's Center for Agricultural and Shale Law notes that it does not protect operators from injuries linked to overnight lodging, weddings, concerts or food service. An Ohio State University fact sheet on these laws adds a second warning: many recreational-use laws don't protect activities that charge a fee.

My state-by-state guide to agritourism laws shows what your state's law covers. Then put these questions to your county and health department:

Is paid camping or RV parking allowed in my zone, and do I need a special use permit?
At how many sites, RVs or tents does a campground license apply here?
Does listing a site on a booking website count as "advertising" for licensing?
What water testing, septic or dump station rules apply?
Who inspects the electrical work for RV posts?
Is there a fire code for spacing, lanes and fire rings?

Step 4: Talk to Your Insurer First

Ring your agent before you pour a single yard of gravel. A standard farm policy was written for farming, not for paying guests sleeping on your land.

Ohio Farm Bureau's Leah Curtis warns that a traditional farm policy will likely not cover these activities. Campground insurers list the same gaps. Leavitt Recreation and Hospitality Insurance, writing in June 2026, says animal liability and dog bites are often excluded by default, and amenities added after the policy was written may simply be missing from it.

Booking platforms help, but only partly. Hipcamp's host protection gives hosts in the US, Canada and the UK $1 million per occurrence of general liability, with a lower limit of $250,000 for incidents caused by the host's own animals. Hipcamp says it applies in excess of your other valid insurance, and it does not replace a farm or commercial policy.

Ask your insurer these questions, and get the answers in writing:

Does my policy cover paying overnight guests, RVs and campfires?
What are my liability limits, and are animal incidents covered?
Are the electrical posts, water lines and septic covered as property?
Does it cover guests' dogs, and bites by my farm dogs?
What changes if I sell firewood, propane or farm products to campers?
Do I need an umbrella policy, and what limits do booking platforms require?

My guide to agritourism insurance coverage explains each type of cover. If agents keep turning you down, read what to do when you can't find agritourism insurance.

Insurance pairs with paperwork. A signed guest agreement and good signs help, but they have limits. Read do liability waivers protect your farm? and my guide on where to post agritourism warning signs before you write your own.

Step 5: Choose Your Site Type

The site type sets your build cost, your price and your workload. Here are the four common types.

Dry site (boondocking). A level gravel or grass pad and nothing else. Guests use their own batteries, water tanks and toilets. Lowest cost, lowest price.

Electric only. A pad with a 30 or 50-amp power post. Power lets guests run air conditioning, which matters in summer. Hipcamp's host guide notes that an RV air conditioner needs a 30-amp connection and would trip the breaker on an ordinary house supply.

Water and electric. Power plus a frost-protected water tap with a backflow preventer. Wisconsin, for example, requires a backflow device on every threaded hose connection.

Full hookup. Power, water and a sewer connection at the pad. The highest price, but septic or sewer work is the most expensive and most regulated part of any build.

What RV hookups cost depends mostly on distance: how far the pad sits from your power panel, your water and a place for wastewater. Short trenches keep the bill down.

What one RV site costs to build by type: dry, electric only, water and electric, full hookup — Estimate from published ranges. Your road, soil and distance to power will move these numbers.

Item	Typical cost	Source and notes
Gravel pad (about 800 sq ft)	$1,000 to $3,200 (our estimate)	HomeAdvisor gravel driveway cost of $1.25 to $4.00 per sq ft, times 800 sq ft
30-amp electric, installed	$800 to $1,200	RVshare, 2026, professional install
50-amp electric, installed	$1,200 to $2,000	RVshare, 2026; CampLife gives $500 to $2,000 per site
Water tap from an existing supply	$500 to $700	RVshare, 2026
New well, if you need one	$3,500 to $15,000+	RoverPass, 2025-26
Sewer or septic connection	$2,000 to $12,000	RoverPass and CampLife; RVshare puts it at $200 to $500 if a sewer cleanout already exists
Full hookup, all utilities	$3,200 to $29,000+	RoverPass, including a well at the top end
Septic for a 20 to 30-site park	From about $30,000 to $60,000	RoverPass (updated 2026)
Wi-Fi	$55 to $130 a month	Starlink US residential plans from June 2026 billing, plus a router

The Dump Station Question

You don't have to put sewer at every pad. Many small sites offer water and power, and point guests to the nearest dump station.

Wisconsin even lets a campground apply for a variance from building a dump station if 20 or fewer of its sites are designated for self-contained RVs and a dump station within 25 miles signs an agreement to take its guests. Your state may have a similar route, so ask.

RoverPass suggests planning for 50 to 100 gallons of wastewater per site per day, so septic sizing is work for a designer and your health department, not guesswork.

Wi-Fi: Nice, but Not a Must

About 40% of campers say Wi-Fi affects where they choose to camp, rising to 65% of Gen Z and millennial campers, according to the Outdoor Hospitality Industry trade group, as reported by NBC News. A single satellite or rural broadband plan and an outdoor router can cover a few close sites.

Field-Tested Play:

Build electric and water first, and wire the trench for more posts than you need. Running conduit for a future site while the trench is open costs little. Digging it again next year costs plenty.

Step 6: Lay Out and Build

Spacing is a safety rule, not just a comfort.

Wisconsin and Minnesota want at least 10 ft between camping units. Ohio asks for 15 ft side to side and 10 ft end to end, a minimum site of 1,000 sq ft, and 15 ft from any building or public road. Minnesota sets a minimum of 2,000 sq ft per RV site. In the UK, club sites space units six metres apart.

Several RVs parked with space between them in an open field, showing farm RV park spacing — Illustrative photo, not a featured farm. Photo: Maryna Nikolaieva on Unsplash.

The national model standard is NFPA 1194, the Standard for Recreational Vehicle Parks and Campgrounds. Its 2026 edition covers design, construction and fire safety, and adds requirements for electric vehicle charging and charging pedestals. Your fire marshal may use it, so ask which edition applies.

Site layout diagram comparing back-in and pull-through RV sites with lane width and spacing — Not to scale. Check your own state and fire code before you stake out pads.

Pull-Through or Back-In?

Pull-through sites let a driver enter one end and leave the other. They are easiest for 40 to 45 ft rigs and nervous drivers, and they earn better reviews from big-rig owners. They take more land, because each needs a lane at both ends.

Back-in sites use less land and can sit along a single lane. They suit shorter rigs, vans and confident drivers.

On a farm, a mix works well: one or two pull-throughs for big rigs, back-ins for the rest. Make each pad at least 10 ft longer than the longest rig you accept, and say that length clearly in your listing.

What Goes on Each Site

A level gravel pad, crowned or sloped slightly so rain runs off.
A power post near the rear of the pad. North American rigs usually have their hookups on the driver's side.
A frost-protected water tap with a backflow preventer.
A fire ring, where local burn rules allow it.
A picnic table and a numbered post.
A trash point you empty, or a clear take-your-trash rule.

An RV parked in a field next to a picnic table at a simple RV site — Illustrative photo, not a featured farm. Photo: Adrian Hernandez on Unsplash.

Step 7: Set Your Prices and House Rules

What to Charge

Start with your local market. Harvest Hosts' 2025 price guide puts US averages at $0 to $20 for dry camping, $30 to $55 for basic electric and water sites, and $55 to $90 for full hookups at private parks.

The farms in the table above sit at or below that range: a $27 listed price for a Missouri site with power, water and sewer, from $31 in North Carolina, about CA$58 listed in Ontario and £15 to £20 at a Yorkshire club site.

Price for what makes you different. A working farm view, fresh eggs at the gate or a tour can justify a few dollars more than the RV park by the highway. My agritourism pricing guide explains how to set the number and when to raise it.

A few pricing habits help:

Charge more on holiday weekends and local event dates.
Offer a weeknight rate to fill Monday to Thursday.
Keep your total price about the same on every platform.
Add paid extras: firewood, eggs, produce, a farm tour, or a dump-tank service.

For what Hipcamp hosts really take home, see my breakdown of how much Hipcamp hosts earn on a farm.

House Rules That Keep the Peace

Write your rules down and put them in every listing and on a sign at the entrance. Clear rules prevent most problems.

Check-in and check-out: For example, arrival 2 pm to 8 pm, departure by 11 am. Say what happens with late arrivals.
Quiet hours: Typically 10 pm to 7 am. Remind guests that farm work starts early and machinery is noisy.
Pets: Leashed at all times, kept out of pastures and paddocks, and owners pick up. Harvest Moon Farms keeps pets out of pastures; that is a good model.
Generators: Allowed only within set hours, or not at all. Bridgewood Farms bans them.
Fires: Only in the fire ring, never in dry or windy weather, and only your firewood, to avoid bringing in pests.
Speed: Walking pace on farm lanes. Farm vehicles have right of way.
No-go areas: Mark barns, chemical stores, ponds and machinery as off limits.
Gray and black water: Never dumped on the ground. Point guests to your dump station or the nearest public one.

Biosecurity Near Livestock

Campers bring vehicles, boots and dogs from other farms. That is a disease risk to your animals.

Ontario's agriculture ministry gives practical rules for visitors to livestock farms: a single entry point, visitor parking away from farm-vehicle traffic, feed and manure, a biosecurity sign at the farm gate, restricted-entry notices on animal building doors, hand washing, and a log of visitors and vehicles. As a precaution, it says 48 hours may be needed between farm visits, or a week for visitors from abroad.

For campers, that means sites well away from barns, no unescorted animal contact, and handwashing stations if you offer animal experiences. My biosecurity plan for farm visitors gives you a full template.

Field-Tested Play:

Turn your rules into a welcome card with a map. Put the farm stand, the dump station, the no-go zones and quiet hours on one page. Guests who know the rules break fewer of them, and the map sells your eggs.

Step 8: List Your Sites Where RV Travelers Look

You can take bookings in several places at once. Use a calendar that syncs both ways, so you never double-book a pad.

Channel	What it is	Host cost (published, Nov 2026)	Best for
Hipcamp	Camping marketplace in the US, Canada, the UK and other countries	Free to list; 15% commission for private landowners, 12.5% for parks linked through booking software (US help page); 12.5% plus VAT (UK help page)	Most farms starting out
Campspot	Booking software and marketplace for parks	10% Marketplace commission for Campspot software partners; small-park package $100 a month for parks under $40,000 a year in revenue	Farms growing into a small campground
Harvest Hosts	Membership for free one-night stays at farms and other businesses	Guests pay no nightly fee; members are encouraged to spend $30; hosts need commercial liability cover	Selling products, not renting sites
Boondockers Welcome	Free stays on private land	No nightly fee; guests who use hookups offer to pay, with $3 to $5 a night for electricity seen as fair	Hobby hosting
Outdoorsy and RVshare	RV rental marketplaces with campground programs	Outdoorsy campground listing is free and links to your park booking software; RVshare's 2022 partner program pays parks commission on RV rental bookings	Larger sites with booking software
Caravan and Motorhome Club / Camping and Caravanning Club (UK)	Members-only club site networks	CMC: £69 including Club membership, no commission	UK farms with up to 5 units
Your own website and Google Business Profile	Direct bookings	No commission; card processing fees apply	Repeat guests and lower fees

Host commission on paid bookings by platform — Fees change. Check each platform's host page before you list.

Hipcamp has real reach on farmland. Ag Alert reported in July 2026 that nearly 1,500 California hosts list on Hipcamp, and two thirds of them describe their land as a farm, ranch or similar working land.

Even so, don't rely on one channel. A Google Business Profile with your site photos, a booking page on your farm website and a short email list of past guests will lower your fees over time. Start with my guide to getting found on Google Maps, and see simple website setup for agritourism farms for the booking page.

Reality Check:

In the UK, check a club's rules before you list a Certificated site elsewhere. Some clubs restrict camping to members or bar third-party listings, which can rule out Hipcamp for that site.

Step 9: Taxes on RV Site Income

Short stays are often taxed like hotel rooms. Ask before your first booking, not after your first audit.

In the US, rules vary by state and county. A 2017 Avalara review found campsite rentals taxed in Florida, Idaho, Montana, Minnesota and Wisconsin, but not taxed in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania or Texas at that time. Rules change, so check current law.

Hipcamp collects and remits taxes only in specific places where the law requires it. Everywhere else, Hipcamp says you are responsible for other occupancy taxes and for filing the returns.

In Canada, residential stays of a month or more are on the GST/HST exempt list, and the CRA treats sites in a trailer park as exempt only when rented for at least a month. So if you are registered, short stays are usually taxable. Small suppliers with $30,000 or less a year in taxable sales generally don't have to register. In the UK, pitch fees on holiday sites are standard-rated for VAT under HMRC Notice 701/20. Optional or metered electric hook-ups are reduced-rated, and optional or metered water and sewerage hook-ups are zero-rated; if they aren't charged separately, they take the pitch's rate. VAT registration is required once taxable turnover passes £90,000 in 12 months.

Questions to ask your accountant:

Is campsite rental taxable here for state sales tax, county lodging tax, or both?
Do I collect tax on hookup fees and firewood as well?
Which platforms collect and remit tax for me, and which leave it to me?
How do I depreciate pads, posts and water lines?
Does this income change my farm's tax status or property tax class?

My guide to agritourism and taxes has more questions to take to that meeting.

Step 10: Your First-Season Launch Plan

Open small, learn fast, then grow. Here is a simple timeline.

Three to six months before opening

Drive-test the road and fix the worst spots.
Get zoning and health department answers in writing.
Get an insurance quote that names RV sites.
Decide on two to four sites and their type.

Two to three months before

Hire the electrician and any septic or well contractor.
Build pads, run power and water, set fire rings and tables.
Write house rules and make the welcome map.
Register for any lodging or sales tax.

One month before

Photograph each site in good light, with a rig on it if you can.
List on one or two platforms and set up your Google Business Profile.
Invite friends or local RV owners for a free or discounted test weekend.

First season

Ask every guest one question: what would make you come back?
Track nights booked, nightly income, extras sold and costs.
Fix problems at once and reply to every review.

After the season

Raise prices on your busiest nights.
Add one site, a dump station or a pull-through only where bookings prove the demand. That is how a few pads grow into a small farm RV park without a bank-breaking bet.

If you need help funding the build, my guide to agritourism grants and funding lists programs to check.

A Worked Example: Four Sites, One Season (Estimate)

Here is a worked example, so you can see how the numbers fit together. This is an estimate for illustration, not a forecast. Replace every number with your own quotes.

The setup: four water and electric sites on a farm with a good road and an existing water supply.

Build cost (estimate):

Four sites at about $4,100 each (pad $2,100, electric $1,400, water $600, the midpoints of the ranges above): about $16,400
Permits, plans and inspections allowance: about $1,000
Total: about $17,400

First season (estimate):

Season: six months, or 183 nights per site.
Occupancy: 25% of nights filled. That is 183 site-nights across four sites. For context, Campspot's platform data showed about 35% occupancy across all site types over the 12 months to March 2025.
Price: $45 a night, inside the $30 to $55 range for basic electric and water sites.

Line	Amount (estimate)
Site fees: 183 nights at $45	$8,235
Firewood and extras: a $10 bundle on 40% of nights	$730
Booking fees: 15% on 60% of bookings via Hipcamp	-$741
Electricity: about $4 a night (assumed; check your tariff)	-$732
Insurance add-on (placeholder; get a quote)	-$1,000
Wi-Fi: 6 months at $55	-$330
Trash and supplies	-$400
Season profit before income tax	$5,762

Waterfall estimate of first-season income and costs for four farm RV sites — Estimate only. Insurance is a placeholder; occupancy and prices vary widely by location.

At that pace, the build pays for itself in about three seasons. If occupancy climbs to 40% in year two, site fees alone rise to about $13,180 a season at the same price.

The real upside is often what campers buy. Every night a guest stays is another chance to sell eggs, meat, fruit or a farm tour.

Reality Check:

Your time is not in this estimate. Someone must answer messages, check guests in, mow, empty bins and handle the 9 pm phone call about a tripped breaker. Price that time in before you decide.

A Lesson From the Road at Bloopy Durians

I'm the founder of Bloopy Durians, a durian farm in Bentong, Malaysia, that welcomes visitors from all over the world and has been featured in Bloomberg News and Asahi Shimbun.

Customers can pitch tents at the farm. But parts of our farm road are not tarred, and normal cars can't get in. That looked like a problem.

So I turned it into an offer: a paid four-wheel-drive pickup adventure. Visitors park elsewhere, and we drive them in. The road that kept cars out became something people pay for. I wrote about it in how a 4WD adventure ride brought revenue to my durian farm.

Two lessons for your RV plans. First, check your access road before anything else. Second, if the road has a limit, such as no big rigs past the creek, turn it into an offer: small-rig sites, a tent meadow, or a shuttle from a parking area.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many RV sites can I have on my farm without a campground license?

It depends on your state or country. Many US states draw the line at five, including Michigan, New York, Ohio and Minnesota. Wisconsin licenses four or more sites, and even one to three if you advertise them. Ask your health department for the number in writing.

How much does it cost to put an RV hookup on a farm?

As a rough estimate, an electric-only site costs about $1,800 to $5,200 including the gravel pad, and a water and electric site about $2,300 to $5,900 if water is already close by. A full hookup with sewer can run from about $4,300 to $18,000, or much more if you need a new well or septic system.

Do I need 50-amp service, or is 30-amp enough?

Many rigs run on 30-amp, but large motorhomes and fifth wheels often use 50-amp. A post with both 50-amp and 30-amp outlets lets you welcome either. Your electrician will size the supply for the number of posts.

How much can I charge for an RV site on my farm?

US averages in 2025 ran about $30 to $55 a night for electric and water sites and $55 to $90 for full hookups at private parks. Real farm sites we found were listed at $27 to about CA$58 a night, with a UK club site at £15 to £20.

Does my farm insurance cover RV guests?

Usually not without changes. Ohio Farm Bureau warns that traditional farm policies likely don't cover these activities. Ask your agent in writing, and treat platform coverage such as Hipcamp's as a backup, not your main policy.

Do agritourism liability laws protect me if a camper gets hurt?

Not always. Pennsylvania's agritourism law, for example, does not protect operators against injuries linked to overnight lodging. Check your own state's law and talk to a lawyer.

Can I host RVs on my farm in the UK without planning permission?

Often yes, through an exemption. A Certificated site approved by an exempted club can take up to five caravans or motorhomes, and holdings of five acres or more can host up to three caravans for no more than 28 days in 12 months. Building work, toilets and drainage can still need planning permission, and the rules differ between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Is Harvest Hosts or Hipcamp better for a farm?

They do different jobs. Harvest Hosts brings free one-night guests who are encouraged to buy your products, while Hipcamp takes paid bookings for a commission. Many farms use both.

Start With the Road, Then Build Only What Sells

RV sites on your farm are one of the simplest lodging businesses you can add. There are no beds to make. Guests bring their own rooms.

But it is still a business with rules. Test your road. Get zoning, health and insurance answers in writing. Start with two to four sites. Then let a season of real bookings tell you what to build next.

If you want to compare RV sites with other ways to host overnight guests, read my guides on how to start a farm stay and why simple cabins can outperform luxury farm stays.

Not sure your farm is ready for paying guests? My free Farm Readiness Quiz takes a few minutes and shows you where your farm is strong, where the gaps are, and what to fix first.

Take the Free Farm Readiness Quiz

RV sites are one income stream. My free ebook, 150 Ways to Unlock Hidden Wealth From Your Farm, gives you 150 more. You'll find ideas that use the land, buildings and skills you already have, ways to earn in the off-season, and low-cost tests you can run before you spend real money. It is written for farm owners who want a better income or a second one.

Get the Free 150 Ways Ebook

P.S. Greg Nelson's vineyard didn't start as a campground. It started as a working farm with a few spare spots and a reason for people to come. Your RV sites can start the same way: one level pad, one good road, and one night that pays.

Written by Stephen Loke of AgritourismSuccess.com, whose farm is featured in Bloomberg News and Asahi Shimbun. This article is for education only and is not legal, tax, insurance or financial advice. Laws, fees and prices change, so confirm details with your own professionals. Figures checked November 2026. Photos from Unsplash are illustrative and do not show the farms named in this article.